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The Geek Dojo Weekly

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

Hi, I’m Jeff and welcome to the The Geek Dojo Weekly for the week of April 29th 2021! This is a weekly video games newsletter featuring my top 5 stories of the week. 

Lost Soul Aside looks amazing, Sony and Microsoft are making a lot of money, and Nintendo keeps doing Nintendo things. Let’s get into the news!

Lost Soul Aside Gets a Fantastic New Gameplay Video

Via: Lost Soul Aside Twitter

Lost Soul Aside is a project created by one man, Bing Yang, from China. The project was originally shown off way back in 2016 with much attention. Shortly after that, he was approached by Sony to help with development, and Bing Yang was able to create his own studio, Ultizero Games. Within the last 5 years, we have not seen or heard anything about Lost Soul Aside, until this week. The official Twitter account was updated with a statement apologizing for the wait and an 18 minute gameplay video to watch.

The new gameplay video set the gaming world ablaze. The game itself still maintains it’s Final Fantasy ascetic, but the gameplay itself looks like Devil May Cry. I am pretty amazed by the showing and I am interested in seeing more for sure. There is no release date or release window just yet, but Lost Soul Aside will be available on PS4, PS5, and PC.

Surprise! Super Mario Party Gets a New Update

Via: Game Informer

Nintendo continues to do Nintendo things. Originally released in 2018, Super Mario Party is receiving a big update. Update v. 1.1.0 will include 70 new mini games, a 2 vs 2 Partner Party mode, and online play!

Since there is no end in sight to the COVID-19 pandemic just yet, this is a pretty nice surprise. Fans have been wondering why Super Mario Party did not ship with online play to begin with. My theory is that the update was going to come out way sooner, but COVID slowed down production. Either way, better late than never and this should breath new life into the game altogether.

Monster Hunter Rise 2.0 Update Released This Week

Via: Polygon

Monster Hunter Rise got it’s big new 2.0 update this week. The update features a great deal of new content including an unlocked HR, Elder Dragons Chameleos, Teostra, and Kushala Daora, Apex monster hunts, and new weapons and armor to craft. The Apex monster hunts are a nice touch as they were only available to fight in the Rampage mode quests. The Apex monsters available to hunt are Apex Arzuros, Rathalos, and Diablos. They will be a bit tougher than their regular counter parts, so prepare accordingly. There is more content that was not necessarily covered in the trailer so you will have to find out on your own. More content will be on the way as update 3.0 will be released in late May. Happy hunting!

Guilty Gear Strive Open Beta 2 Has Been Announced

Via: Guilty Gear

The next Guilty Gear Strive beta will be available on PS4 and PS5, 8pm PST on May 13th to May 16th at 7:59PM PST. All characters, including the newly announced I-No and Anji, will be available to play. Offline versus mode, tutorial, training and online matches will be playable. Some features added from feedback on the first open beta have been implemented as well, such as a rematch function. This is great, because after each match in the first beta, you would go directly back to the lobby and you would have to start the match up all over again. A rematch option is a great addition and gets players back into the game a lot faster. Check out the link above for more details on the beta.

Numbers!

Considering how hard it is to buy these consoles, PlayStation and Xbox and moving a lot of units.

Via: The Verge

Sony has sold a total of 7.8 million PlayStation 5 consoles, as of March 31st. This puts the PS5 selling a bit faster than the PS4, as that system sold 7.6 million units as of March 31st. 2014. NPD has stated that the PS5 is the fastest selling console in US history through it’s first five months of availability.

Via: GameIndustry.biz

Microsoft’s fiscal Q3 showed a 50% increase year over year. The personal computing division jumped up 19% to $13 billion, and Microsoft has credited gaming as the primary driver of that growth. Hardware was up 232% year over year, for the quarter. Those results are accredited to the continued demand of the Xbox Series X | S consoles.

Noteworthy:

The Last of Us 3 has a script: IGN

Rumors: Netherealm is working on a Marvel fighting game?: Comicbook Gaming

Respawn wins an Oscar: Game Informer

Yoko Taro is working on a strange new project: Game Informer

iOS PS5 and Xbox S | X controller support is here: Games Radar+

Yoshinori Ono moves on from Capcom: Twitter

Bobby Kotick takes a payout: Game Industry.biz

Jedi Fallen Order gets a next gen update: Polygon

Microsoft lowers PC sales cut: Game Informer

Notable Releases:

Tuesday, April 27th:

Death end re;Quest – Switch

Wednesday, April 28th:

Second Extinction – Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One

Genshin Impact – PS5

Thursday, April 29th:

Total War: Rome Remastered – PC, Mac

Friday, April 30th:

R-Type Final 2 – Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, Switch, PC

Returnal – PS5

New Pokemon Snap – Switch

Catch me every week on The Skill Tree: A Gaming Podcast

Madness (Episode 17) – The Skill Tree (A Gaming Podcast)

On today's festive episode (which features Hashim in the best mood he's possibly ever been in), the guys talk about their initial impressions of Guilty Gear -Strive-, and the first part of the Summer Games Fest for 2021, which includes (but not limited to): Elden Ring, Tiny Tina's Wonderland, Battlefield 2042, the Ubisoft Forward, Devolver Digital, and more! The guys also talk about Overwatch finally getting crossplay, and Back 4 Blood rumors.  — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theskilltree/message
  1. Madness (Episode 17)
  2. StoneCold (Episode 16)
  3. Affiliated (Episode 15)
  4. Bullying (Episode 14)
  5. Legally (Episode 13)

Would you like this weekly newsletter sent directly to your mailbox? Feel free to subscribe!

The Geek Dojo Weekly

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

Hi, I’m Jeff and welcome to the The Geek Dojo Weekly for the week of February 25th! This is a weekly video games newsletter featuring my top 5 stories of the week. 

Anthem is dead, PlayStation hits us with a slew of new information, and some Konami games are getting a second chance at life. Let’s get into the news!

Konami Plans to Outsource Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania to Third Party Studios

Via: PSU

Konami is reportedly looking to outsource development on new Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania games, according to VGC’s Andy Robinson. These new games will not be seen for quite some time. There is very little information with no planned ideas or who will be developing.

This is pretty exciting to hear especially since Konami has pretty much been out of gaming for a long time. They have quite a few IPs that many of us love. I have personally wanted the MGS series to come back in a big way so it would be great to see another studio get the rights to it. If Konami really wants to shake the table, they would outsource the Suikoden franchise.

PlayStation News Extravaganza

Via: Game Informer

Sony hit us with a slew of information of what to expect in the coming months/years. First up, a new PlayStation VR headset is in development. It is currently in development for the PS5 and will not be launching in 2021. The headset will feature improved resolution and field of view. It will also only have one cable to connect to the PS5 console which is a huge plus. The headset is a long ways out, but devs kits will be sent out soon.

Next is the Play at Home initiative returns next month. Last year at the start of the pandemic, Sony announced Play at Home as a way to give back to the community. They offered Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey free for a limited time. Since the pandemic continues to spread, this program is being brought back again. Play at Home 2021 starts March 1st in the PlayStation store. Ratchet and Clank PS4 will be available for free until March 31st. Beginning on March 25th, Sony will be offering an extended access period for new Funimation subscribers.

Sony also announced more games will be coming to PC, starting with Days Gone. CEO Jim Ryan opens up about the topic in a recent GQ interview stating, “…our studios made some wonderful, great games. There’s an opportunity to expose those great games to a wider audience and recognize the economics of game development, which are not always straightforward. The cost of making games goes up with each cycle, as the caliber of the IP has improved. Also, our ease of making it available to non-console owners has grown. So it’s a fairly straightforward decision for us to make.”

Lastly, to top it all off, a brand new State of Play will premier this Thursday. Well today since this newsletter goes out every Thursday. I will cover it in next week’s post. It will be 30 minutes and will give us a deep dive on 10 upcoming games. I’m fully expecting a Kena: Bridge of Spirits release date. Tune in today at 5pm EST to find out more.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has Been Delayed

Via: Twitter

Paradox Interactive released a statement this week noting Bloodlines 2 will be delayed out of 2021. It seems the game has run into some development issues as the lead development team, Hardsuit Labs, has been dismissed from the project. No new release date has been given and no more pre-orders will be taken at this time.

I have never played the first game, but this one was on my radar for 2021. It is disappointing to see this happen, but take your time Paradox.

Cyberpunk 2077 February Patch Has Been Delayed

Via: Twitter

CD Projekt Red announced the next big patch for Cyberpunk 2077 will be delayed into the second half of March. “While we dearly wanted to deliver Patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077 in the timespan we detailed previously, the recent cyber attack on the studio’s IT infrastructure and extensive scope of the update mean this unfortunately will not happen — we’ll need some additional time.” They also mention, “We’ve been working on numerous overall quality improvements and fixes, and we still have work to do to make sure that’s what you get.”

CDPR has definitely had a rough go at things since this game launched. Even though things have been rough, I’m am glad to see they are working to make things right. I have not made it very far into the game myself, but I am content with waiting on this big patch to see how much has the game improved.

Anthem 2.0 Development has been Cancelled

Via: Game Informer

Anthem had a troubled launch in 2019. It was a new direction for BioWare and EA. Upon release, the game seemed like it had something special in the beginning, but everything quickly feel apart after an hour or so in. EA looked to revamp this game with an Anthem 2.0 update. Two weeks ago there was a report that judgement day for Anthem was coming. EA would decide if they will save the game or discontinue development. Fast forward to Feb. 24th, it has been reported EA will be pulling the plug on Anthem completely. BioWare’s Christian Daily blames the pandemic for the project not coming together completely. The team working on Anthem will be moved over to Dragon Age 4. RIP Anthem.

Noteworthy:

PS5 and Xbox component shortage to be investigated by President Biden: Gamespot

New NieR Replicant trailer: Twitter

Pyra/Mythra Smash Bros. Ultimate Showcase date: Twitter

New Skullgirls DLC is on the way: Steam

Upcoming Monster Hunter showcases: Nintendo Everything

Notable Releases:

Via: Kotaku

Tuesday, February 23

Persona 5 Strikers | PS4, Switch, PC

Thursday, February 25

Hellpoint | Switch

Ghost n’ Goblins Resurrection | Switch

Littlewood | Switch

Friday, February 26

Bravely Default II | Switch

Catch me every Monday on The Skill Tree: A Gaming Podcast

Madness (Episode 17) – The Skill Tree (A Gaming Podcast)

On today's festive episode (which features Hashim in the best mood he's possibly ever been in), the guys talk about their initial impressions of Guilty Gear -Strive-, and the first part of the Summer Games Fest for 2021, which includes (but not limited to): Elden Ring, Tiny Tina's Wonderland, Battlefield 2042, the Ubisoft Forward, Devolver Digital, and more! The guys also talk about Overwatch finally getting crossplay, and Back 4 Blood rumors.  — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theskilltree/message
  1. Madness (Episode 17)
  2. StoneCold (Episode 16)
  3. Affiliated (Episode 15)
  4. Bullying (Episode 14)
  5. Legally (Episode 13)

Would you like this weekly newsletter sent directly to your mailbox? Feel free to subscribe!

The Geek Dojo Weekly

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

Hi, I’m Jeff and welcome to the The Geek Dojo Weekly! A weekly video games news article featuring my top 5 stories of the week.

Guilty Gear Strive Gets a New Trailer

Via: YouTube

Arc System Works published a new trailer detailing Strive’s various game modes. Tutorial mode, arcade mode, mission mode, survival mode, training mode, and of course there is online play. It’s about what you would expect from a fighting game and it’s good to see there will be plenty of offline content for those who don’t necessarily want to play online. In the trailer, it seems like they made an effort to make sure we know Strive will have, “optimized net code.” Arc Sys has announced last year GG Strive will in fact have roll back net code, which is a major plus for online play. Only thing I wish was included in this trailer is a date for the next beta.

Guilty Gear Strive will be available on PS4, PS5, and PC via Steam on April 9th, 2021. Crossplay will be available between PS4 and PS5, but PC has not been mentioned in that conversation just yet.

Could We Finally get An Update on Bayonetta 3 this year?

Via: DualShockers

It seems very likely. PlatinumGames has been teasing various announcements on their official website, since last year. Four have already been revealed, but the fifth star on the website has been mysteriously updated with the year 2021. According to DualShockers this lines up with a recent interview with Hideki Kamiya, who mentioned we will get an update on Bayonetta 3’s development later this year.

Bayonetta 3 was originally teased at the 2017 Game Awards show and we really haven’t heard anything since. This is a Switch exclusive I’ve been waiting for for quite some time so I am sure it will be worth the wait.

EA Creates a New Studio for the Skate Series

Via: Gameindustry.biz

Electronic Arts revealed their new Vancouver based studio, Full Circle. This studio will be dedicated to the Skate franchise and led by Microsoft’s former head of Xbox Live, Daniel McCulloch, with Deran Chung and Cuz Parry, who were creative leads on previous Skate games, joining the team as well. Fans, including myself, have been wishing EA would bring the Skate series back from the dead for well over a decade. The latest entry, Skate 3, came out in 2010. Skate 4 was revealed to be in the works, at EA Play back in June 2020, to much excitement. Considering EA has created a whole new studio for Skate, the series might be back for good. Maybe we could get a Skate game compilation with the first three games included. Finger crossed!

A BioWare-less Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Game is in the Works?

Via: Game Informer

According to a reputable Star Wars insider, Bespin Bulletin, that is. During the latest episode of B.O.B. The Podcast, Bespin claims the game is in the works and fans will never guess what studio is behind the project.

“Amongst my digging, I heard there is a Knights of the Old Republic project in development somewhere,” Bespin said. “I talked to a couple of people, and I also found out that Jason Schreier said that it’s not with EA, and we’ll ‘never guess’ who the studio is that’s making this game.” 

Even though this is just a rumor at the moment, this does excite me. EA losing their exclusive rights is a great thing and other studios will get a chance at making Star Wars content. Whoever the studio is, I’m sure they will do Knights of the Old Republic justice.

Seems like Ninja Does Not Want to be a Good Role Model

Via: GameSpot

Twitch streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins recently sat down with The New York Times and had an interesting take on parenting. The interview itself covered quite a few topics, but the part making headlines is on the kids who frequents his livestreams and their behavior in his chat.

“It all comes down to parenting,” Blevins says. “You want to know who your kid is? Listen to him when he’s playing video games when he thinks you’re not. Here’s another thing: How does a white kid know he has white privilege if his parents never teach him or don’t talk about racism?” He continues, “If they’re gaming and their first interaction with racism is one of their friends saying the N-word and they have no idea what it is–what if it was on my stream? Is it my job to have this conversation with this kid? No, because the first thing that’s going on in my head is, This kid is doing this on purpose to troll me. If someone says a racial slur on someone else’s stream, it can potentially get that streamer banned. It’s awful, but that’s the first thing I think of.”

My take is, he has a point. Parenting is in fact part of the problem, but I also think it’s Ninja’s job to moderate his streams and try to be a better role model in the public eye. Yes, it’s not his job to have conversations with them, but they are in your chat. You should not let that type of behavior go on in your chat to begin with. Shut it down, explain why that’s an issue and why you won’t tolerate it, and move on. If the rules are not followed then maybe that person should not be allowed in your stream. Just from these quotes, he comes off as a coward in my eyes. He refuses to step up and make a change in society and that is just sad.

Noteworthy:

Bandai Namco is interested in more Pokken Tournament: Nintendo Everything

Cyberpunk 1.1 patch introduces a new bug: Kotaku

Halo Infinite monthly development updates: IGN

2021 DICE Awards Nominees: VG247

PS+ February Lineup: PlayStation Blog

Scavenger Studio is in Hot Water: Gameindustry.biz

Notable Releases:

Via: Kotaku

Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & The Secret Fairy | PS5, PS4, Switch, PC [Tuesday, January 26]

Project Winter | Xbox One [Tuesday, January 26]

Cyber Shadow | PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC [Tuesday, January 26]

The Medium | Xbox Series X/S, PC [Thursday, January 28]

The Yakuza Remastered Collection | Xbox One, PC [Thursday, January 28]

Word from the author:

This is a part of my new experiment to start blogging again. I really enjoyed putting this together and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Look for the Geek Dojo Weekly every Thursday.

Also, if you didn’t know already, I started a new podcast with a couple of friends. It’s call The Skill Tree: A Gaming Podcast. Brought to you by The Geek Dojo and The L1TEWORK Company. K1ngeljay, Hashim (Paul), and myself break down the week in gaming news. New episodes every Monday. Check it out, share it with your friends, and leave us a good review!

First Impressions | Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory Demo

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

Publisher/Developer: Square Enix

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Ever since the first Kingdom Hearts game, I have always been a big fan. The mash up of Square Enix and Disney characters is such a unique concept that always kept me intrigued. Despite the number of spinoffs and the convoluted story, my fandom stayed mostly intact. Coming off of Kingdom Hearts 3, which was fun, but could have been better, I was wondering where Square would take the KH universe next. Fast forward to the year 2020 and the answer is a new rhythm game.

Continue reading →

My Most Anticipated Games of E3 2018

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

1200px-E3_2018_logo.svg

E3 2018 has officially come to a close. It smacked us right in the face with plenty of new game announcements, game previews, some solid press conferences, and some not so solid press conferences. *cough cough* Square Enix *cough cough* Now begins the hard part of waiting for these new games to actually release to the public! Here are 10 that I am impatiently waiting for the most:

Continue reading →

Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood’s New Character Class is the Samurai

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

thegeekdojo.net

Samurai will be the second new chracter class of the Stormblood expansion. The first was the Red Mage. The new Samurai class will be dps based, unlike FFXI tank based samurai. There will be no base class and will start at level 50. Check out the trailer below to get a good look at the new samurai class along with the new continent, Othard.

Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood will be released on June 30th for PC and PS4.

For more video game news, visit The Geek Dojo.

Street Fighter V’s Next DLC Character is Kolin

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

thegeekdojo.net

Kolin is otherwise known as Gill’s personal assistant from Street Fighter 3. She has ice based powers and quite a few combos, similar to Karin. Channeling straight from the Capcom Unity blog:

“After working in the shadows for Gill and the secret Illuminati organization, Kolin makes her Street Fighter V debut. First appearing in Street Fighter III, Kolin works behind the scenes in order to fulfill the Prophecy of Miraha and stop any who dare stand in Gill’s way. She is typically calm and collected, but can suddenly fly into a rage when anybody threatens Gill and his plans. Spoiler-alert, she resurrects Nash and uses him as a pawn too, showing she will do anything to achieve her goals.”

Kolin will be available February 28th. Check out her reveal trailer below featuring a new song from hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco.

Check out the Capcom Unity blog for all the extra details, such as fighting style, v-trigger, v-skill, and costumes for Kolin.

Source: Capcom Unity

For more video game news, visit The Geek Dojo.